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Shaun Flynn.
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Home › Forums › Diamondback Terrapins › Help with tank maintenance
Hi everybody, I did a major cleaning in my 75 gallon dbt tank well over a month ago. I cleaned out all of the water and replaced all of the filter pads. I rinsed the filters bio media with old tank water as to avoid killing off the beneifcial bacteria that was growing on them. I rinsed the new pads with old tank water as well. I dechlorinated the water prior to refilling my tank. The new water in the tank was a bit colder than the normal 78’F, but the temperature was back to normal in a few hours. Here is my problem. Ever since this cleaning my ammonia levels have been maxed out in the tank and the nitrite levels have been a pretty high as well. Prior to the cleaning, my tank was cycling all the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate perfectly. What did I do wrong with the cleaning to have thrown my tank into chaos? I have been doing 50% water changes weekly, but within a few days the ammonia level is back up to 6 or 8 ppm. I have not changed the bio media in about 7 months because I do not know if it goes bad. Is the bacteria unable to colonize on the filters bio media after a certain amount of time? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks. Shaun